Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3, 1-6
Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up here before us.”
Then he said to the Pharisees,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
To save a life
1. A withered hand. How this man must have suffered in life! But perhaps you have the same characteristics as he had:
a) Useless: he could not use his hand and had to depend on others, and that must have made him feel he was a nuisance for others. When you’re not able or you believe that you can’t do things on your own, you may lose your sense of purpose, and so you don’t create or produce.
b) Dependent: he becomes dependent on others; he constantly needs the goodwill of others. You might feel that you need to depend on other people’s kindness, or you believe you need so.
c) Pity: he believes that whoever helps him feels pity for him, and that hurts. You might also feel that others feel pity for you, but that may something you imagine.
It’s important that you should not feel this way, because if you get caught up by these characteristics, they will incapacitate much more than your hand, they will paralyze your whole life.
2. Angry and grieved. That’s the way Jesus felt and looked at those religious people, because they were religious, but not humane. Dear brother or sister who are committed to the Church; I’m thinking of you, priest or friar or nun, you, a member of a church movement or institution: let’s not dehumanize ourselves! Let’s take Jesus to others with love. Let’s not treat people badly. Let’s not use the Church to find a position of power, or to be influencers. Let’s not take advantage of the Church. Let’s not make the parish a gossip and showbiz program. We are called to heal and save, not to hurt and condemn. I hope Jesus will not look at us with anger and feel grieved at the hardness of our heart!
3. Stretch out your hand. The best way to get out of a state of paralysis, is by stretching out, opening up to others, extending your hand. Help whoever you can today. I don’t mean financially, although if you can, do so. I mean, help others with your work and with small details and deeds of love. Those are the things which make you feel alive and fulfilled. For example, visiting an elderly person who lives alone or calling a friend who is going through a rough time and inviting him or her for a drink. Just stretch out, lend a hand with simple attitudes from the heart. You can do so much with so little; just offer to help. I can assure you that the paralysis in you will be healed.
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you, be with you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
